The Amanda Hope Skolnick Undergraduate Award is given annually to honor the memory of Amanda Skolnick, who worked as a Laboratory Assistant in the Department of Pharmacology while an undergraduate at Iowa. In her junior year of study, Amanda’s life tragically ended after being struck by a motor vehicle in Iowa City. The Skolnick family made a generous donation to the Department of Pharmacology to establish a tuition scholarship award in memory of Amanda. 

Our 2016 award recipient was Rikki Kephart. Rikki has been a Laboratory Assistant in Dr. Stefan Strack's laboratory since the fall of 2014. She is a senior working towards a B.A. in Biochemistry and a B.S. in Biology (Neurobiology).  Rikki has provided below a short biography of her time at Iowa and her future goals.

Extracurricular and off-campus activities:  Member of a co-ed, professional chemistry fraternity, ΑΧΣ.  We offer free tutoring for all science classes at the university and present science demonstrations to elementary students.

Career goals/graduate study:  I will be working for at least a year after graduating this May, after which I plan to apply to graduate or pharmacy school.  Ideally, I would like to combine my love for research with my passion for the medical field.

What I love about University of Iowa:  The University of Iowa has so many resources and activities for students! Despite its large size, it has been very easy for me to feel attended to. I have managed to become fairly close to many professors and TA's, and the faculty in general is so welcoming and encouraging. Also, our university is extremely diverse, and there is always something new and interesting going on.

Rikki says....
Education has always been an extremely important aspect of my life, so I cannot thank you enough for personally supporting my education!